The deal would potentially give the US a new 20,000t, tariff free quota for each of the next three years, and an additional 25,000t quota in year four - a fivefold increase on current access.

If fully implemented in this form, the deal could be worth A$500 million to the US, in exports.

The new quota was set up on the back of bilateral negotiations between the EU and the US, providing part of a settlement over the long-running dispute over the non-use of growth promotants in beef exported to the EU.

Encouragingly, the EU has already confirmed to Australia that the new quota is under Most Favoured Nation status, indicating countries other than the US have the right to apply for access to it.

Complicating matters, however, is the fact that under draft regulations contained in a memorandum of understanding, it would specifically apply to 'high-quality' beef - grainfed for at least 100 days using a ration containing 12Mj of energy.

The current minimum energy requirement for Australian feedlots is 10Mj.

Currently, the great majority of Australian beef exported to the EU is grassfed, and only a handful of Australian feedlots are EU-accredited.

In apparent conflict with the new quota's grainfed requirement is the fact that most beef eaten within EU member states, either domestically produced or imported, is currently grassfed.

A second quota stipulation is the application of a national government-approved carcase evaluation system which takes both carcase maturity and palatability traits into account.

While this echoes the USDA grading model, it is yet to be determined whether Australia's MSA system would fill this requirement.

Australia believes, however, that it can conform to the quota's high-quality conditions, and plans to make further strong representations to that effect.

Some beef-exporting countries have suggested the EU quota provisions are deliberately designed to skew supply to the US, at the expense of other global beef suppliers.